CRUNCH WEARS NO PANTS — The C-Word.
This week marks the unofficial start to the Wolves season: media day. The day when the softball questions get asked, pre-planned answers get spewed, canned quotes get reported, and everyone talks about how much they’re looking forward to the season and each other. Everybody loves everybody!
Of course, the problem with media day is people say the right thing, but not necessarily the real thing. For the 2022 Timberwolves, what they really think of each other is the single biggest factor. It’s the dreaded C-word that looms over any successful season: Chemistry.
If the Timberwolves chemistry is our biggest concern, we have to debunk two other “concerns” first. Talent? Not a concern. The Wolves have more players (3) in ESPN’s Top 25 ranking than any other team in the NBA. Fit? Also, not a concern. No, we don’t know exactly how the KAT+Gobert experiment will work in a guard-heavy league. But have faith in Finch to figure that out.
So, we’re left with chemistry. And it seems like good chemistry on an NBA team comes from the combination of three things: roles, personalities, and contracts.
Roles:
Last week, Kevin Garnett was on Paul Pierce’s podcast expressing a single concern about the Gobert trade. He said the Wolves gave up too much. But contrary to the traditional media outlets, “too much” didn’t mean the first-round picks. He said they got rid of “a bunch of dogs.” Pat Bev, Vando, the guys that hustled and did all the crazy shit that it takes to win games when you might be outgunned and KG didn’t love seeing those guys leave.
Not to be out-trolled, Pat Bev chimed in saying, “toughness and dog mentality goes further when skill don’t work hard.” Two veterans with winning reputations expressing fear about the intangibles the Wolves gave away on the court.
Aside from the fact that it was KG and Pat Bev saying this—never known for their rational, emotion-less takes—there’s a scary amount of validity here.
The Wolves alpha last year, Pat Bev, was a role player who was best used coming off the bench. You expect the alpha to be a star, but Beverly was the heart, soul, enforcer, energizer, and leader all rolled into a player who got 25 minutes a night. Who takes that role now? KAT should be, and he wants that role, but it’s just not his personality. Gobert is the new guy and doesn’t seem to be the vocal team leader type. Ant is probably the alpha long-term, but that’s a lot on the plate of the 21 year-old trying to make another jump. There’s a decent argument to be made that it could be DLo, but can the calm and cool DLo inspire the necessary hustle and intensity? The alpha is very much unsolved.
The Wolves need an alpha, but they also need people to embrace the scrap. The “dogs,” as KG and Pat Bev like to say. Beverly and Vando would almost instantly bring energy with their hustle and dirty work. They knew their value came from going harder than everyone else. Who does that now? Is Jaden a scrapper? Does Kyle Anderson come in and do that? Maybe J-Mac is that guy off the bench.
It has to get sorted, because not everyone gets to keep their hands clean. Great teams have balance and people know (and accept) their roles. Chemistry won’t happen if all five starters see themselves as stars.
Chemistry Concern Level: High.
Unclear roles for both the leader and hustlers.
Personalities:
This aspect of chemistry comes down to do they get along? Do they like each other?
This summer didn’t give us much.
Ant generously walked back his “don’t put no fear in my heart” quote about Gobert in Utah. But is that real? What happens the first time Ant dunks on Gobert in practice? Or when Gobert meets him at the rim? As NBA fans, we overplay any in-team conflict for the sake of a story, but if there’s history there, it could be more.
Ant appears to have spent the summer working out by himself or a small handful of other NBA guys. Notably, it wasn’t with the Wolves crew down at Mayo Clinic Square. (In fairness, Ant looks awesome so stick with whatever works.) But Ant also seems like he gets along with anyone (except maybe Jimmy Butler), so he’s not really the concern.
KAT has forever seemed like his NBA best friend is ex-teammate Zach Lavine. And fans around the league seem unsure if anyone else actually likes him. HOWEVER, he did get the Paul George wedding invite—along with Pat Bev—and as strange as it may be, that feels significant. The things that make Wolves fans cringe may not be personality traits off the court.
Should we read into why KAT is in the back? Or is it just because he’s the seven-footer?
Gobert is the new guy. He plays a position that could (literally) get in the way of Ant, KAT, and Jaden going to the hole. He’s French. And there were rumblings that he’s not people’s favorite teammate. But an interesting thing happened with Donovan Mitchell got shipped to the Cavs. Mitchell defended the chemistry on that team and said he told Danny Ainge not to trade Gobert. Normally, a player uses a trade as a reason to air grievances against the people they hate. And Mitchell used his airtime to say they were a good fit. Even if they weren’t best friends, it’s an interesting defense of the defensive guy he didn’t have to defend.
DLo and KAT used to be buddies—or that was the talk when DLo came here. Maybe they still are, although they aren’t seen together often. DLo rolled into Las Vegas this summer to watch the young Wolves in summer league, and has continued to appear like a steady, albeit quieter, personality on this team. And with the arrival of his first child last week (congrats!), maybe he’s content being a listener.
The bench seems to get along, and some of the guys were spotted together at both summer league and pro-ams around Minneapolis. They appeared to be a tight-knit group last season and they continue to grow together. The potential for high-chemistry in the reserves seems significant.
Chemistry Concern Level: Medium.
No one seems that tight, but teammates don’t have to be best friends to win, and they seem to all want to win.
Contracts:
This is mostly good! KAT and Gobert are locked up long term. Ant and Jaden have extensions coming. DLo is the outlier. He’s on the last year of a max deal and the proverbial “what’s next” is looming, to say the least.
In the same KG-Paul Pierce interview, it was interesting to hear Pierce say DLo needs to not worry about being an All-Star and just focus on knocking down shots. How does a still-in-his-prime former All-Star hoping for one more big contract feel about being the fourth or fifth most important (and heralded) starter?
Nearly 25 years ago, the Timberwolves dealt with a point guard who wanted more money alongside bigger stars. And when Stephon Marbury got traded, it immediately broke up one of the burgeoning duos in the NBA. DLo isn’t the #2 on this team, and may not even be top 4, but he’s supposed to be the engine that makes it all go. If he’s unhappy and plays like it—or worse, becomes a locker room distraction—what happens to the chemistry?
Chemistry Concern Level: Low.
The better DLo plays, the more he’ll get paid.
Winning solves almost all problems. If Gobert opens things up for KAT. Ant takes a major leap, DLo fits as the ideal floor general, and McDaniels and the bench mob take on the dirty work—this could be great. But if everyone wants the ball, the last shot, and the attention, there will be issues.
All eyes will be on every high-five and fist-bump, on every time someone gets knocked down and who helps them up, on who everyone looks to on a low-energy Tuesday night away game that they need to win. Because the C-word is looming. It’s the big question mark in 2022-23 and people the fans and media will offer up loud diagnoses at the slightest signs of discontent.
